(1) Field of the Invention
A subject matter of the present invention is a herbal preparation with anti-inflammatory and astringent effects used in a herbal medicine to treat conditions-related to interruption of anatomical continuity of outer layers of skin or deeper tissues.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Herbal preparations are widely used in herbal medicine, cosmetology, and conventional medicine. They have special properties due to presence of biologically active substances that act on skin after their application.
Surface skin inflammations constitute a very serious skin care problem. When untreated or inadequately treated the surface skin inflammations can cause an infection. A healing process is painful and often limits mobility and decreases quality of life of a patient.
A serious and still current problem in medicine is a rate of healing of various wounds inflicted by mechanical factors like abrasions, cuts, and wound cuts, as well as wounds caused by thermal or chemical factors like burns, or by other diseases complication such as diabetes and an associated with it problem of diabetic foot.
All significant injuries lead to damage of vessels and interruption of their anatomical continuity thereby initiating a molecular and cellular response leading to hemostasis, a process that causes bleeding to stop by keeping blood within a damaged blood vessel. This is the first stage of a wound healing.
The healing process cannot be initiated until hemostasis mechanisms start to work, what is a multifactorial and a multistep process. The most important element of hemostasis is blood clotting, leading to clot formation. A blood clot consists mainly of a mesh of fibrin and embedded on it platelets. The clot formation is a very important process. It prevents further loss of fluids and electrolytes from a wound and reduces pollutions coming from outside environment.
The healing process of skin can be accelerated by actions of all kind of chemical substances mainly of synthetic origin which often give rise to additional side effects mainly weakening elasticity of the skin what destructively affects contained in it proteins.
A current treatment of the above-referenced disorders generally involves use of an ointment with steroids and in cases of disorders with chronic conditions, with presence of a variety of bacteria, use of strong antibiotics which often cause adverse side effects.
Another way of treating skin injuries is use of calendula ointment, which contains calendula and Vaseline. When such ointment is used, however, the healing process is slower, and microorganisms can easily be reproduced on a crust formed on wound surface.
In a treatment of a skin inflammation, including wounds, also special herbal compositions with a synergistic effect are used.
From the publication No. WO 9742963A2 of the Patent Application, titled “Green Ointment”, an ointment for a treatment of wounds and burns is known. It comprises in its composition plantains, chamomile, calendula, yarrow, gum-tree, matricary, olive oil, eucalyptus, and celandine. An application of the ointment enables widening of assortment of medicinal preparations for burns and wounds and provides treatment efficiency of about 42%.
From the U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,491, titled “Medicinal Agent and Method for Treatment of Mastitis in Animals and Humans”, a medicinal agent is known consisting of a mixture of a decoction of mixture of medicinal herbs in equal parts by weight and an ammonia solution infusion of the same medicinal herbs namely: wild chamomile, port marigold, stringing nettle, common centaury, pine buds, common plantain, birch buds, pot marjoram, garden sage, garden angelica, dandelion, coltsfoot, great burnet, common valerian, peppermint, common thyme, and tripartite bur-marigold. The medicinal agent taught by that reference is highly effective and its application results in 98 to 100-percent recovery in a treatment of mastitis.
From the Polish Patent No. P.198268, titled “Herbal Composition for Treatment of Chronic Wounds”, a herbal composition is known used particularly in a treatment of venous ulcers and postphlebitic syndrome, which contains a mixture of herbs consisting of marigold flower, herb firefly plantain, chamomile, and echinacea, wherein the herbal composition comprises active ingredients in the form of carotenoids, iridoids, aucubin, catalpol and polyphenols, particularly flavonoid and phenolic acids in the amount resulting from the ratio contained in composition of plants.
There is a trend in world medicine of seeking natural substances that may replace synthetic ones in a treatment of skin injuries.